Vice President Hamid Ansari inaugurated the newly built international and domestic terminals and upgraded airside facilities at Chennai Airport.

Estimates suggest that domestic air traffic will touch 336 mn passengers per annum and international traffic will exceed 84 mn over the next 10 years, from the present 121 mn and 41 mn respectively.

With the new facilities, there are hopes on Chennai airport also introducing direct non-stop flights to destinations in US, which has a large south Indian population. Airlines can develop Chennai as a hub and also set up maintenance and repair facilities.

IT MARKED A quantum jump in Chennai airport’s capacity to handle air passengers, from the present 9 million (6 million domestic and 3 million international) by an additional 14 million (10 million more domestic and 4 million more international passengers per annum) represents a 150 per cent increase in capacity. With rapid growth in air travel, even this added capacity is bound to reach saturation levels in the next five years. The second green field international airport is being planned at Sriperumbudur, some 40 km west of the city. Chennai thus has the prospect of being the first metro to have two large airports.

Vice President Ansari referred to this premier international gateway, the air hub of south India gaining greater importance in view of India’s Look East policy. This renowned ex-officer of the Indian Foreign Service pointed to greater economic and commercial integration of India with countries of East Asia and South East Asia taking place at a rapid pace: “Passenger and air freight traffic, to and from these countries is bound to rise. With Chennai being the natural gateway due to geographical proximity, the upgraded modernisation of the airport is timely and appropriate,” he said.

Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh expressed happiness over the new terminals. The elegant and modern new terminals with innovative design, apart from a big jump in passenger capacity, will also be able to handle 11 lakh metric tonnes of air cargo, nearly four times the present capacity of 3.2 lakh tonnes. Singh pointed to the sophisticated storage and retrieval system installed that would help in the quick turnaround of cargo.

The minister also pointed to the secondary runway capable of handling 40 aircraft movements per hour from the present 30 aircraft movements per hour. The minister also referred to the liberalised open sky policy of the government contributing to a phenomenal growth, making India one of the fastest growing aviation markets in the world. Singh also pointed to ample opportunities in the cargo, ground handling and MRO segments.

AAI chairman, V P Agrawal referred to new facilities built over an area of 1.33 lakh sq m at the cost of Rs 2325 crore. Chennai Airport facilities are among the best in the world and Agrawal pointed to some of the unique features of the newly constructed terminal:

The extended runway will be able to handle even the large Airbus A380 aircraft.

The new facilities have the Departure facilities in the top tier and the Arrivals two tiers below with easy link to surface transport as in large international airports, providing for ease of movements.

For the first time in AAI, 110KV supply has been availed from TNEB which is routed through gas insulated Panels.

The terminal buildings are air conditioned through multiple chillers of capacity as high as 2500T each.

Baggage handling system has been provided which can be integrated with In-line x ray baggage screening system and 4 level checks.

A measure of growth over the last two decades

Chennai Airport had its large expansion in May 1989 when a Rs 18 crore new international passenger terminal to handle a million passenger a year was commissioned. Chennai was the first metro to have domestic and international terminals situated side by side.

With the plan to extend the Chennai metro rail to the airport the ease of commuting to the city will expand manifold. As pointed out by AAI Member S Raheja, construction activity had to be done amidst severe constraints. There were serious issues relating to land acquisitions and severe limitations of working space. Executive Director S Bahduri cited an instance of a large communication centre of the defence ministry that needed to be shifted without disturbing live operations. With severe constraint of space for movement of equipment and with fuel storage tanks and aircraft just across, extra care had to be taken.

Airport Director H S Suresh should also be happy over the provision for lot of greenery. One may also look forward to a lot of traditional south Indian art as part of the interior décor.􀁑

IE: How was your experience in constructing these busy brown field airports at Kolkata and Chennai?

V P Agrawal (VPA):The experience has been very good. Though we had taken up construction of airport infrastructure at 35 non-metro airports earlier, the development of big ticket projects at metro airports was special. It was done entirely through our internal resources. The airports have come up very well and are at par with airports across the globe. We did face teething problems as the brownfield airports were already operational and work had to be taken up cautiously without much disruption to flight operations and with minimum inconvenience to travelling public. The sites were handed over to the contractors in parts to avoid any disruption.

IE: Was absence of a foreign partner a major handicap?

VPA: Fortunately AAI has highly motivated professional workforce which is not only technically oriented but also experienced . Thus the absence of foreign partners in the development of the airport was not a handicap at all. However, architectural and engineering consultancy services, contracting agency and project management consultancy firms had foreign partners.

IE: Land acquisition for a metro located airport is a major issue. How did you tackle it?

VPA: At Chennai there was a land requirement for extension of runway and relocating defence installations. The Tamil Nadu government was very helpful in providing the requisite land. AAI land at certain locations that was in possession of other agencies at the airport was taken back and alternate land was allotted to them as per operational requirements.

IE: The involvement of defence land was another constraint. How did you face it?

VPA: Handing over of pockets of land from defence at Chennai contributed to some delays. Around

19.24 acres of defence land was required for development of the Chennai Airport. Initially we did face

some resistance from local defence authorities, but the matter was later resolved at the Cabinet Secretariat level and the land was duly handed over to AAI in 2011.

IE: What are your plans for upgrading the existing facility sandwiched between the new international and domestic terminals at Chennai Airport ?

VPA: Modifications are anticipated to be undertaken in the existing International Terminal to cope-up with the traffic demands. As far as the existing Domestic Terminal is concerned, enough capacity has been created at the new facilities. Hence the existing domestic terminals would not be used for operations initially and as soon as demand arises, the same would be put into operation with needed modifications.

IE: How soon do you anticipate full utilisation of the facility created ?

VPA: At present the passengers handled at Chennai are close to 13mppa and aircraft handled are close to 1.2 lakh movements. The existing and the new facilities created at Chennai Airport would saturate somewhere around year 2019.

IE: Your estimate on the amortisation of the cost involved.

VPA: The capital expenditure involved in the Chennai project is close to Rs 2325 crore. Taking into account the depreciation, the estimate for amortisation may be in the range of 10 to 12 years.

IE: The lessons learnt that could be used for future projects.

VPA: We faced lot of teething problems through the process and the issues were tackled and resolved in a focused and time-bound manner. However, in some cases like procurement of passenger boarding bridges and vacation of premises by the existing users did cause time and cost overruns. AAI has learnt a lot through execution of these projects and the experience will be very handy in future.

IE: In construction of the new terminal in Chennai what do you consider the best of experience?

VPA: New project is like a new born baby and akin to delivery of a new child, the experience of which is always satisfying. Airport projects are like new born to us. The Chennai project has now been delivered and the airport commissioned. The work done by us is there to see by commuting public. Initial reactions have been highly encouraging and satisfying. 􀁑

Where glass elevates passenger experience

GONE ARE THE days when airports were nothing more than a stopover between the journey and destination. Saint-Gobain Glass brings on board, rich experience in providing glass solutions for airports.

The Saint-Gobain Glass team contributed towards selection of the glass, design aspects and processing of the glass, taking into account transparency, summer comfort and natural light advantages.

SGG Antelioplus Sparkling Ice, 12 mm and SGG Envision were chosen for the facades of the airport. The glass enables transparency and solar control; For a blend of transparency and of security, SGG provided the ideal solution of sputtered coated glass with high light transmission, optimum solar control, low external and internal reflection, in larger sizes and in higher thickness (of 12mm).

For the air side, the chief parameters that were to be considered were sound insulation, day lighting and thermal comfort. Therefore the chosen solution was double glazed units with high selectivity (a glass that allows natural light to come in but cuts off the infra red rays).

These state-of-the-art high performance glasses are advanced coated glass solutions which help cut the sun’s direct heat (over 100 per cent-200 per cent as compared to ordinary glass). They have the dual advantage of optimum light as well.

For the interiors of the airport, there was a need for a modern and contemporary design to align with the international look of the terminal. It had to create an expansive sense of space and this could only be achieved with large panes of glass as against the conventionally used tiles on walls. Moreover, it also had to be hygienic and enable ease of cleaning. A coloured, lacquered glass, Planilaque, belongs to the class.

CCCL: a totally new experience

CHENNAI AIRPORT’S NEW terminal is one of the largest projects executed by Consolidated Construction Consortium Ltd (CCCL). Though CCCL had prior experience of constructing six airports, the new terminal being a brown field one, had proved to be a totally new experience. “We had to be careful as to not disturb the utility cables. With aircraft taking off and landing frequently, safety was on top of cards,” said R Sarabeswar, CEO-CCCL.

Extreme precautions were taken while constructing the extension runway over Adyar Bridge. “We were cautious as it should enable an A380 to take off,” said Sarabeswar.

The Canadian partner, Herve Pomerleau International, had helped CCCL in overall project management and quality issues. “The co-ordination with the dedicated AAI team was easy as they understood our problems and were quick in resolving these,” said Sarabeswar.

Though India boasts of cheap labour, with lack of skills, the cost of labour eventually increases. “At the peak of construction we had 5000 labourers. We could have reduced it if mechanisation could be done. This will be the right step forward as labour force is dwindling,” said Sarabeswar.

With construction sector registering high growth, CCCL has emerged as a complete solution provider for all construction needs. Currently projects at hands are: ONGC Corporate office, CMRL, Goa Airport, Infosys’ projects, Rail and Vikas Nilayam at Kolkata. With an annual turnover of Rs 2000 crore, the company expects a 20 per cent annual growth. 􀁑

Excel Generators provide the vital back-up

BACKUP POWER FOR Chennai’s new terminals has been provided by Excel Generators Pvt. Ltd. The gensets are powered by MTU Onsite Energy- Engines from Friedrichshafen, Germany.

MTU-Onsite Energy: Excel Generators Pvt. Ltd are the authorised service dealer to sell the Diesel Generator sets, install and commission the complete system as also to offer after sales service. The company offers turnkey solutions like acoustic and ventilations system.

Euro-Diesel, Belgium: Excel Generators Pvt. Ltd are distributors for Rotary UPS, a complete replacement to UPS with lead acid batteries and generators, also known as No-Break Sets. This would provide uninterrupted supply of power for critical applications like in data centres, I-T Parks, continuous processing industries, precession industries, etc.

VYCON- California: Excel Generators Pvt. Ltd are the distributors of mechanical batteries. This is a replacement for the lead acid batteries that are used in static UPS. This is also called Flywheel Energy Storage System(FESS) and has a life span of 20 years. This FESS can be used along with any existing UPS system where short time backup power is required until the DG sets kick in. 􀁑

Other vendors who built the state-of-the-art terminals...

AAI SELECTED A team of architects for the expansion consisting of US based Frederic Schwartz Architects, Hargreaves Associates and Gensler and New Delhi based Creative Group. Civil contractors are from the joint venture of Herve Pomerleau International of Canada and CCCL of India. Pteris Global Ltd., Singapore, has done the baggage conveyor work. Other associates are Honeywell, Areva, Voltas, Mero, and Schindler.

Public address systems had been provided by Infocom & Security Systems India Pvt. Ltd. Both the terminals are seamlessly connected through optical fiber and LAN network. State-of-the-art equipment from Bosch-Germany has been installed to get clear sound in a noisy milieu. For tackling an emergency, the system is seamlessly integrated with Honeywell fire alarm system.

Efacec, a leading European supplier of automated materials handling and storage systems did conclude the installation of a complete new automatic storage and retrieval system for the Integrated Cargo Complex (Ph-III) at Chennai Airport.

RGV system present in this project is an intelligent high-speed rail guided carrier system, equipped with a microcontroller that optimises acceleration/deceleration motions.

The WMS computer system will be responsible for the location management of free and occupied positions, stored consignments and their major details.

IE, the business magazine from south was launched in 1968 and pioneered business journalism in south. Through the 45 years IE has been focusing on well-presented and well-researched articles. When giants in the industry stumbled to keep pace with the digital revolution, IE stayed affixed embracing technology.